Field
This disclosure is generally related to grid-scale energy assets, such as solar panels, storage systems, back-up power generators, and loads capable of providing demand response. More specifically, this disclosure is related to assets that are capable of providing grid support, such as ancillary services. These assets may be exclusively devoted to providing grid support, or they may have a primary purpose, for example, of providing back-up power in a micro-grid; and grid support is provided in addition to their primary purpose.
Related Art
In traditional electricity markets, economic mechanisms are frequently used to arrive at accurate incentives and to dispatch services. For example, an operator of a power system, such as an independent system operator (ISO), may request bids up to 24 hours in advance of a desired service. In response to the request, one or more suppliers, such as a power plant, may bid to supply power or ancillary services (such as regulation, load following, spinning reserve, non-spinning reserve, replacement reserve and/or other services that help maintain power system stability in response to unanticipated variations in the supply and demand of electricity). Based on the received bids, the ISO may select or dispatch the services it needs to operate the power system or grid.
Modern day electrical grids often include alternative renewable energy resources, such as wind energy and solar power, in addition to traditional fossil-fuel-based power plants. However, these renewable energy resources may bring more uncertainty to the grid because the amount of energy produced by wind or sunlight varies with time, season, and random factors, such as weather. Hence, there is more need for ancillary services, which are traditionally provided by fossil-fuel-based power plants. However, regulation services produced by fossil-fuel-based power plants are expensive and can be slow to ramp up. Recently, various new energy assets have been incorporated into the grid. These assets include forms of grid-scale energy storage devices, such as large-scale batteries, super capacitors, flywheels, or plugged-in electrical vehicles. The purpose of these assets is to help stabilize the grid by providing dispatchable power and ancillary services from new sources on the grid.